Defenseman spent past two seasons with Nashville Predators, has one year remaining with a cap hit of $1.575 million; Calle Rosen, Georgii Romanov placed on waivers
ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues have claimed defenseman Justin Barron off waivers from the Nashville Predators on Sunday, and defenseman Adam Jiricek was recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League.
Barron, 24, spent the past two seasons with the Nashville Predators and has one year remaining on a contract with a cap hit/average annual value of $1.575 million before he can become a restricted free agent at the end of the current season.
Claiming Barron on waivers could very well coincide with the upper-body injury to on Saturday to defenseman Logan Mailloux, who did not return to the game after getting into a scrap in a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday with Cole Smith at the 13:42 mark of the first period.
The Blues are already down a defenseman, with Tyler Tucker (tweaked right knee) sidelined a week to this point and potentially could miss more time; they have 32-year-old Calle Rosen up as insurance as the seventh defenseman on the 23-man roster, which needs to be submitted to the league by 4 p.m. (CT) on Monday.
Rosen and goalie Georgii Romanov were placed on waivers by the Blues on Sunday.
Barron is 6-foot-2, 198 pounds and is a first-round pick (No. 25) in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Colorado Avalanche who had nine assists in 52 games with the Predators last season; he also spent two-plus seasons with the Montreal Canadiens from 2022-25.
Barron has 52 points (18 goals, 34 assists) in 208 career regular-season NHL games and is expected to be on the 23-man roster that must be submitted by Monday and presumably will be on the practice ice on Monday as well ahead of the Blues departing on a team bonding trip for a few days to Austin, Texas ahead of their season-opener Friday against the Dallas Stars.
The Blues, depending on Mailloux's injury, have decided to opt for experience but have also brought up Jiricek, a 2024 first-round pick who had a really solid camp before being sent down to the Thunderbirds on Friday.
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